1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to merchandise and/or product display systems and, in particular, to a theft deterrent system for merchandise and/or product display systems.
2. Description of Related Art
A wide variety of systems exist for displaying merchandise in a retail environment. Some display systems are freestanding while others are mounted to a support structure such as a gondola, pegboard or the like. Common configurations for support structures feature a pair of vertical standards or support members, a wall member disposed between the standards, and a plurality of vertically spaced shelves mounted to the standards. The shelves are oriented to face aisles in the retail establishment that run on either side of the support structure such that merchandise is visible and accessible by consumers and retail personnel. Additional shelving or other display areas define caps at an end of the support structure providing visibility and access to even more merchandise.
In retail establishments such as, for example, supermarkets, drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores and the like, merchandise is usually displayed for sale on shelving in one or more horizontally spaced, side-by-side rows or columns of merchandise arranged front to back on each of the shelves. Alternatively, the merchandise may be suspended individually from hooks attached directly to the vertical standards of the support structure or a peg board arrangement formed within the wall member of the support structure. Although the merchandise in such retail environments is accessible substantially only from the front (e.g., such that a forward-most item of merchandise in a column of merchandise is accessible), conventional shelves and peg board displays typically permitted free access to the space above the merchandise displayed on each shelf, or hanging on an entire hook. In this way, a person who wished to do so could quickly and easily remove a large number of articles at one time. For example, it is known for thieves to “sweep” a shelf or a hook with their hand or arm, collect the merchandise displayed thereon and place the merchandise in a purse, bag, coat or other container and quickly exit a store without drawing attention to themselves. Similarly, it is known for thieves to detach a hook or empty all the items suspended from the hook or shelf into a suitable container and remove the hook and/or merchandise from the store. In this way, a thief could steal several hundred dollars worth of merchandise with very little effort and without great risk of being detected.
There have been attempts at minimizing theft by partially blocking access to display shelves or hooks to prevent a mass removal of articles therefrom, while permitting removal of individual articles by a prospective consumer. For example, it is known to install a panel in front of each stocked shelf to block or limit access to a first article on the shelf. However, if the panel is securely fixed in place on the shelf, the panel also prevents or impedes restocking of the shelves. As such, a security system of this type may cost more in terms of time store personnel must spend when restocking than the system saves in terms of reducing theft. Alternatively, if the panel is easily removed, then the panel has little value as a security device. Other conventional efforts at theft prevention include use of dispensing cabinets which are restocked through a lockable door at the rear of the cabinet, while leaving a first item in a row of products exposed for prospective customer inspection and purchase. While providing some theft prevention measures, the locked dispensing cabinet arrangements are typically costly, are limited in terms of the range of sizes of merchandise that can be accommodated in one case, and require at least some special handling for restocking merchandise.
Accordingly, the inventors have recognized that a need exists for new and improved security and theft deterrent systems of merchandise and/or product display systems.